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I sent them away into the bone-piles farther down the tunnel, then had theues and toss them to one another: first one at a ti action upon action until I’d gotten up to six It was only when Ijacks that the bone-tossers began toto say I was very good at this A natural, even I could tell that with more time to practice, I had the capacity to become masterful I could’ve played both sides of an all-hollow basketball game I could’ve made them dance every role in Swan Lake But there was no athered theest one pick ue, and one by one my monstrous little army bounded up the chute and into the roohts had been turned on in the cluttered roolow I could see that the only bodies re were mannequins and lass door to Caul’s observation roo back while I approached it alone, save the holloas riding, then called out to lish

"It’s me! It’s Jacob!"

They rushed to the door, Emma’s face circled by the others’

"Jacob!" Her voice was lass "You’re alive!" But as she studied e, as if she couldn’t understand what she was seeing Because I was on the hollow’s back, I realized, it looked to Eht," I said, "I’ast!" I slapped its shoulder to prove there was so solid and fleshy beneath me "He’s coht the eleven hollows forward, sta their feet to announce themselves My friends’ mouths went oval-shaped onder

"Is that really you, Jacob?" Olive asked

"What do you ot blood on your shirt!" said Bronwyn

They opened the glass door just wide enough to talk through I explained how I fell into the hollows’ pit, was nearly bitten in half, was numbed and put to sleep, and woke up with a dozen of them under my control As further demonstration I had the hollows pick up Warren, the chair he was tied to and all, and toss hi end over end until the kids were cheering and Warren was groaning as if he was going to be sick Finally I had them set him down

"If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed it," Enoch said "Not in a million years!"

"You’re fantastic!" I heard a little voice say, and there was Claire

"Let et a look at you!" I said, but when I approached the open door she shrank away I a peculiar’s natural fear of hollowgast is no easy thing--and the smell probably didn’t help, either

"It’s safe," I said, "I proht to the door "I’m not scared"

"Me, neither," said Eh the door and came to meet ed somewhat aardly to put my arms around Emma "Sorry, I can’t quite stand up on ainst her cheek, h, but for noould have to be